Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

TOKYO, Sept 27 (NNN-NHK) – An earthquake, with a magnitude of 5.3, struck Japan’s Shizuoka Prefecture, today, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).

The temblor occurred at around 1:13 p.m. local time, with its epicentre at a latitude of 35.1 degrees north, and a longitude of 137.8 degrees east, and at a depth of 50 km.

The quake logged 4 in some parts of Shizuoka Prefecture, on the Japanese seismic intensity scale which peaks at 7.

So far no tsunami warning has been issued.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi may visit Japan as early as October, a government source said on Sunday, after the leaders of the two countries agreed to pursue high-level contacts to promote regional and international stability.

Wang would hold talks with his Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga during the trip, the source said.

The visit would come after Suga and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed during a phone conversation on Friday to have more high-level contacts.

TAIPEI (Reuters) - The dispute over international organisations referring to Taiwan as Chinese has moved from wild bird conservation to climate change, after a global alliance of mayors began listing Taiwanese cities as belonging to China on its website.

China has ramped up pressure on international groups and companies, no matter how small or obscure, to refer to democratic Taiwan as being part of China, to the anger of Taiwan’s government and many of its people.

Beijing views the island as merely a wayward Chinese province.

SHENYANG, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- The remains of 117 Chinese soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War were returned to China on Sunday from the Republic of Korea (ROK).

It is the seventh such repatriation following a handover agreement signed by the two countries. The remains of 599 soldiers were returned to China from the ROK between 2014 and 2019.

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan broke out Sunday around the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the Armenian Defense Ministry said two Azerbaijani helicopters were shot down.

Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan also said Armenian forces hit three Azerbaijani tanks. There was no immediate word on casualties.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea accused South Korea of sending ships across the disputed sea boundary to find the body of a man recently killed by North Korean troops, warning Sunday the alleged intrusion could escalate tensions.

BEIJING, Sep 26 (APP): Sichuan Normal University (SICNU), China has held the first online Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK) or Chinese Proficiency Test amid the COVID-19 outbreak for international students to pursue their research dreams.

As per Liu Tianhao, a Pakistani student from SICNU, the Chinese Proficiency Test empowered him to explore China, according to China Economic Net (CEN) on Saturday.

He said, “Mastering local languages will enrich your experience in foreign countries. “Each language is beautiful with its history and content, so are Urdu and Chinese,” he added.

TOKYO, September 26. /TASS/: Japan and Russia were closest to signing a peace treaty in 2018, during a meeting between then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the former head of the Japanese government said in an interview with Japan’s Nikkei business newspaper.

Speaking about the reasons that prevented the peace treaty from being signed, Abe mentioned "escalating tensions between Washington and Moscow" following the events in Ukraine in 2014.

BEIJING (AP) — After the first shot, he had no reaction. But Kan Chai felt woozy following the second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine approved for emergency use in China.

“When I was driving on the road, I suddenly felt a bit dizzy, as if I was driving drunk,” the popular writer and columnist recounted in a webinar earlier this month. “So I specially found a place to stop the car, rest a bit and then I felt better.”

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea said Saturday it will request North Korea to further investigate the killing of a South Korean government official who was shot by North Korean troops after being found adrift near the rivals’ disputed sea boundary while apparently trying to defect.

Seoul could also possibly call for a joint investigation into Tuesday’s shooting, which sparked outrage in the South and drew a rare apology from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.